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Grey Elves
This page may be a Stub or not include some information. For a full article on the topic with citations, please see ' ' at Greyhawkonline.com. Grey elves built the old elven cities which now stand abandoned or were given up to other races as they moved through. They are more given to intellect than other elves, but physically weaker. They practice the oldest elven arts, but hide from the eyes of younger, shorter lived races in their isolated settlements. Once inhabiting mountains, many Grey elves have now settled in meadows and forests.They are thinner than high elves, and have either silver hair and amber eyes or pale golden hair and violet eyes. The latter sort are generally called faeriesMonster Manual, Gary Gygax, 1977, 1e. They wear complex gowns and flowing robes, favouring clothes the colour of pure driven snow, the noon day sun, silver and gold, with accessories of polished leather, and contrasting colours and jewels. Their cloaks are often deep blue or purple. For battle grey elves favour plate or chainmail, with winged helmetsComplete Book of Elves, Colin McComb, 1992, 2e, ISBN 1-56076-376-0. They live beyond the age of 1,500 years, sometimes reaching 2,000 yearsUnearthed Arcana, Gary Gygax, 1985, 1e. They're known to use Hippogriffs or even Griffins as mountsMonstrous Manual, 1993, 2eLiving Greyhawk Gazetteer, Erik Mona, Sean K. Reynolds, Gary Holian, Frederick Weining, 2000, 3e. Habitat and Culture Grey elven citadels are a rarity now days. Celene has one of the greatest population of Grey elves and ruled by Yolande, Lady Rhalta of Elven Kind, a grey elf queenThe World of Greyhawk (Boxed Set), Gary Gygax, 1983, 1e. Sunndi and the Lendore Isles perhaps are the only other two by 591 CY, although Highfolk had a high (for grey elves) population in 576 CY, and Sunndi lost many in the 580's wars. Grey elves are highly reclusive and isolationist. While their xenophobia towards other races, even other elves, is not quite malicious, they are not fond of spending time with lesser races. They hold the idea of racial purity highly . This is evident in how long Celene remained hidden, in it's mountain meadow sanctuary, to the point that some of it's members have formed a resistance group, rebelling against it's isolationist policies. Grey Elves were not beyond using memory wipe spells to hide the secret of their location. The mountain citadels of old elven civilisation, scatted now across the Hellfurnaces and Crystalmists (ref needed- folio?), where things of permanent beauty, carved from stone. Elven cities are strictly segregated by caste, typically into five district 'rings', with lower or casteless residents in the outer ring and nobles in the inner most ring. Grey Elves, perhaps more so than any other elven race, believe in the superiority of magic over physical strength, and produce some of the most gifted mages- certainly the most knowledgeable even if not the most powerful.They're skilled crafters of magic items, particularly tomes and scrolls, and this combined with their pursuit of knowledge leads to extensive libraries, which they share with other elves. This combination of intense academic interest and xenophobia to other races, means many elven settlements and communities depend on elves from other races to support them in more physical tasks and the upkeep of their realms; with how old grey elves can be, even compared to other elves, most of these elven 'servants' may not know any other life except one where serving their grey kin is just how it's done. Such a relationship does nothing for the Grey elven sense of superiority or rigidity in social structure, nor does it help the opinions of other elves. Many elves looking in at Grey elf society see grey elves as being almost dwarfish in sensibility, having lost their fey zeal for life and even worse, oppressing other elves. Stats 1e stats= |-|2e stats= |-|3.5 stats= |-|4e stats= |-|5e stats= Category:Races Category:Elves